Shelby battles back from down 11 at halftime but falls just short against tough Whitehall squad

LocalSportsJournal.com

WHITEHALL–Whitehall outscored Shelby 14-0 on second chance points which fueled the Vikings in their victory 43-39 on Tuesday evening in a West Michigan Conference battle at Whitehall.

Whitehall led a back and forth first quarter 12-11 at the end of the quarter. The Vikings increased their lead as Shelby only scored one point in the second quarter to 23-12 at the halftime intermission. Shelby fought back and shrunk the lead to 6 going into the fourth 30-24.

Camden Thompson provided another dominant performance for the Vikings with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Isaac DeHart scored six points on the evening. Brodie Fogus had eight rebounds as well.

Shelby was led by Joseph Hayes with 16 points and seven rebounds. Bishop Lee and Mason Garcia each tallied eight points as Garcia had four assists and three steals as well.

Head Coach Rick Zoulek after the game said, “Whitehall did a great job of being very physical and taking us out of our offense, especially in that second quarter. I was pleased how our guys adjusted offensively and played tougher defensively in the second half. Great intense game to get ready for tournament play. These guys had a challenge after being picked to finish at the bottom of the league. They used that as motivation all year. I’m very proud of these guys for their efforts all season and they showed that we were one of the toughest outs in the league. These guys have battled every game and will continue to do so until we are done. Fun coaching every year when you have young men giving their best for their teammates year in and year out.”

Whitehall finishes 11-3 atop the West Michigan Conference and moves to 14-5 overall. The Vikings will host Western Michigan Christian on Thursday to finish the regular season.

Shelby falls to 7-7 in conference play and 11-8 overall. The Tigers will host Hesperia on Thursday to close out the regular season.